| Jihae's Story: Escaping a False Accusation as a 'Voice Phishing Cash Collector'

The scene depicts Jihae on May 28, 2024, the day she attended the citizen participation trial. Jihae said that from that day until she was acquitted in the appellate court, the courtroom appeared in her dreams every night.

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"Shall we speak comfortably?" On June 17, 2022, a stranger messaged Jihae Kim (24, alias) via messenger. It had been about a year since Jihae left the orphanage. Having lived in an orphanage since the age of two, Jihae had few people to interact with, and as a person with an intellectual disability, she quickly became close to the man, sharing daily life and greetings. The man said, "Let's start dating today," and Jihae became 'a couple' with a man she had never even seen in person, only through messenger.

About two weeks later, the man asked Jihae to quit her job at a food factory and help collect money for his company. Wanting to help the 'man from social media,' Jihae delivered a total of 320 million won in cash across six locations?Gimpo in Gyeonggi Province, Mapo, Jungnang, Eunpyeong, Dongdaemun, and Dobong districts in Seoul?between July and August 2022.

This was the problem. In reality, the man was the ringleader of an overseas voice phishing operation. The people who handed cash to Jihae were victims deceived by phone calls urging them to 'cooperate with an investigation' or 'take out a refinancing loan.' Unaware, Jihae was swept up as a member of the voice phishing crime ring and went on trial in May 2024. The Uijeongbu District Court assigned her case to public defenders Lee Hyejin and Ko Sohyun.

Attorney Lee focused on the organizational structure of the voice phishing crime in Jihae's case. Rather than emphasizing Jihae's intellectual disability, Lee prioritized proving that Jihae had been exploited within the larger criminal organization. Since courts often impose harsh sentences even for minor involvement in voice phishing cases, Lee believed Jihae could be unfairly punished and thus devised a strategy to persuade the jury. A citizen participation trial began.

Uijeongbu District Court public defenders Hyejin Lee and Sohyun Go.

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Voice phishing crime rings are structured with a 'ringleader' overseeing the entire operation, 'managers' who train members, 'lures' who deceive people over the phone, and 'cash collectors' who retrieve the money. While it may seem like all members are complicit, in many cases, ringleaders recruit job seekers or vulnerable individuals as cash collectors by deceiving them. Due to crackdowns on fraudulent bank accounts, face-to-face cash collection has become more common than wire transfers. In such cases, the ringleader must recruit cash collectors who are more likely to be exposed during investigations.

Attorney Lee said, "Jihae was also deceived by the ringleader, and in this case, a romance scam was added on top." The most common defendants Lee encountered as a public defender were those involved as cash collectors in voice phishing cases, most of whom were vulnerable individuals drawn in while looking for short-term jobs. In court, Lee focused on two key points: 1) Jihae did not even have 'conditional intent.' 2) Voice phishing is a crime that requires not only deceiving the 'victim' but also the 'cash collector.' In other words, Jihae was deceived.

Jihae's actions became key evidence in court. On the days she went to collect cash, Jihae used her own transportation card to ride the subway and called a taxi using an app on her personal phone. She even gave her real name to the victims. She was paid 200,000 won per job. She quit her previous job, where she earned 3 million won per month, and ended up struggling financially. She even messaged the ringleader, "If you're making me do voice phishing, I'll go straight to the police."

Jihee’s statement during the final argument.

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Based on this, attorney Lee argued, "Jihae had no awareness of the crime and exposed both her actions and identity, so there was no possibility of recognizing or accepting the voice phishing, nor any conditional intent." Lee also pointed out that Jihae, who chatted daily with the ringleader via messenger, perceived him as a romantic partner and was psychologically controlled by him, and that she had an intellectual disability. Lee explained that Jihae deeply regretted her poor choices and the harm caused to the victims.

Attorney Lee also questioned how much effort investigative agencies were making to extradite the ringleaders at the top of the voice phishing crime rings. In court, Lee stated, "If only low-level cash collectors are arrested and given heavy sentences to boost arrest rates, voice phishing will never be eradicated."

Ultimately, the jury reached a verdict of five not guilty and two guilty in Jihae's trial. The court accepted this and declared her not guilty. The prosecution appealed, but the second trial on September 27 last year also found her not guilty. Attorney Lee said, "Because public defenders do not receive financial compensation from defendants, the relationship is based purely on professional duty," adding, "It was heartbreaking that Jihae, who had no adults to rely on, became involved in a crime. I felt a great sense of reward seeing her regain her daily life."